Starting a Business as a Personal Stylist

Styling is a growing industry. Personal styling isn’t picking out a few outfits for someone to wear; it is about bringing out the best in an individual by elevating their experience in a tailored way (no pun intended).

Whether you aim to work as a one-man team or plan to build a business with many stylists under your arm, like any other business, you must plan, conduct market research, market your business, and implement strategies that ensure you can enjoy a sustainable business.

You may already be a personal stylist, but you may not have formalised your services as a business. In this article, we’ll discuss how to start a business as a personal stylist.

Turning Your Styling Skills Into a Business

Personal style may seem like one of those careers that are complex to turn into a fully fledged business. However, many personal stylists operate their own businesses. Having knowledge of style and fashion isn’t enough to run a business. While it’s essential to know the fundamentals of fashion and style, such as:

• Shape and silhouette: Understanding how clothing cuts flatter different frame types.
• Colour theory and seasonal palettes: Identifying colours that complement skin tones, hair, and eye colours.
• Body shape and garment proportions: Balancing visual proportions with tailored clothing choices.
• Fabric textures, drape, and quality: Selecting materials based on quality, comfort, and movement.
• Wardrobe editing and capsule building: Decluttering closets and curating versatile, mix-and-match pieces.
• Personal branding and lifestyle alignment: Matching outfits to a client’s personal brand, career, and daily routine.

When you run a business, you’ll need to acquire knowledge and implementation in the following departments:

• Marketing and client acquisition: Promoting your services through social media, networking, and targeted outreach.
• Compliance, financial management and pricing strategy: Setting profitable rate structures, tracking expenses, and managing revenue.
• Client relationship management and communication: Conducting consultations, gathering feedback, and maintaining long-term clients.
• Business operations and workflow scheduling: Organising shopping trips, fitting sessions, and daily administration efficiently.
• Legal, contracts, and business registration: Drafting client agreements, registering the business entity, and handling liability.

How Do Personal Stylists Make Money

Personal stylists earn money by offering core services. The most common services are as follows:

• Style reviews: These typically include short consultations, which can start from an hour upwards.
• Wardrobe reviews: These are longer sessions working through a client’s existing clothes to edit, organise and build outfits.
• Personal shopping: This entails shopping trips to fill gaps in a wardrobe.
• Corporate styling: Work for companies, such as staff image workshops or executive styling.

Pricing Strategies According to a Real-life Case Study

A useful real-world example comes from Davidson Image and Style Management, a Cape Town-based styling business. According to its published price list, it charges R6 500 for a three-hour wardrobe review, R2 500 for a one-hour style review, and R6 500 for a personal shopping session with a three-hour minimum. Extra time is billed at R2 200 per hour.

Several strategies stand out:

• A low-cost entry service. The one-hour review gives new clients a lower-risk way to try the service before committing to longer sessions.
• Minimum booking blocks. Wardrobe reviews and shopping sessions are sold as three-hour blocks that include follow-up advice and links, so the client’s payment covers more than the time spent in the session.
• Bundled packages. The business sells a style review plus shopping session for R8 000 and a wardrobe review plus shopping over two consecutive days for R12 500.
• Location-based travel terms. Standard rates apply within 20km of the city centre; a flat surcharge applies beyond that, and clients in other cities cover travel and accommodation.

The above serves as an example. In your business, when you are setting prices, you should calculate the following.

• Desired income: Determine how much net income you need to earn annually or monthly to support your personal living expenses and financial goals.
• Fixed and variable overheads: Factor in ongoing business expenses such as insurance, software subscriptions, website hosting, marketing, professional memberships, and accounting fees.
• Operational costs: Account for direct session costs, including travel, parking, client research, mood board creation, and preparation time before and after appointments.
• Billable vs. non-billable hours: Calculate your total available working hours, accounting for administrative work, marketing, and professional development to determine realistic hourly billable capacity.
• Set clear clothing policies: Always be upfront with clients about whether your service fee includes clothing or if shopping costs are billed separately.

How to Find Your First Clients

Once you have established your services and pricing, the next step is finding clients. Building trust is essential as clients rely on your expertise to enhance their personal image and lifestyle.

1. Tap Into Your Existing Network

Direct outreach: Inform friends, family members, former colleagues, and professional contacts about your new styling services.

Introductory offers: Consider offering a limited number of discounted consultation sessions in exchange for honest feedback and initial testimonials.

2. Build Visual Content on Social Media

Showcase expertise: Use platforms like Instagram, TikTok, and Pinterest to post outfit combinations, wardrobe transformations, and shopping guides.

Consistent posting: Regularly share fashion tips to demonstrate your knowledge and set client expectations.

3. Establish Strategic Partnerships

Industry connections: Partner with photographers, makeup artists, hair salons, boutiques, and event planners who work with target clients.

Referral swaps: Create mutually beneficial relationships to gain direct referrals and collaboration opportunities.

4. Collect Social Proof

Client reviews: Request written testimonials and permission to share before-and-after work after completing projects.

Build credibility: Use verified client experiences to provide social proof to prospective clients.